$1.3M marine debris cleanup project underway in Alaska

A massive cleanup effort is getting underway in Alaska, with tons of marine debris — some likely sent to sea by the 2011 tsunami in Japan — set to be airlifted from rocky beaches and taken by barge for recycling and disposal in the Pacific Northwest.

Hundreds of heavy-duty bags of debris, collected in 2013 and 2014 and stockpiled at a storage site in Kodiak, also will be shipped out. The barge is scheduled to arrive in Kodiak by Thursday, before setting off on a roughly one-month venture.

Alaska has more coastline than any other state. And Alaska cleanup operations often are expensive and dangerous, said Nikolai Maximenko, a senior researcher at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC). “Even without the tsunami, Alaska is well-known for being polluted with all these buoys and other stuff from fisheries activity and from other human activities,” he said.

Read more about it at WasteDIVE and WRAL.com.

New research uncovers brain circuit in fruit fly that detects anti-aphrodisiac

New research published in eLife identified the neural circuit in the brain of the fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster) that is responsible for detecting a taste pheromone, which controls the decision of male flies to mate with females.

In the natural world, sense of taste controls many behavioral decisions. For many animals, pheromones, which are chemical signals used for communication, influence the choice to mate. However, very little is known about how taste pheromones are processed in the brain.

The recent work by Joanne Yew, assistant researcher at the Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC), a newly integrated research unit of the SOEST, and colleagues explicitly tracked this process — identifying the taste cells on the fruitfly’s legs which detect the pheromone, locating the neurons in the brain which respond to the pheromone, and mapping the connection between the two populations of cells.

Read more about it in the UH Mānoa News and at EurekAlert!

Newly described black coral species stands tall

Black coral is one of the gems of the islands, and now a new species of black coral named Leiopathes annosa has been discovered. It was collected by one of the Pisces submersibles, operated by the Hawai‘i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), in waters 1,000 to 1,600 feet deep within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM).

Researchers from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural Resources described the new coral in the journal Zootaxa.

“The species is characterized by tall (1 m or more), fan-shaped colonies, with thick, sometimes overlapping branches, and tissues that are colored bright orange when alive,” the authors write. The coral forms growth rings like trees, which can be used to establish their age. This coral, based on its growth rings, was found to be able to live more than 4,000 years. That helped determine its name species name: annosa means long-lived. NOAA report it may be the longest-living marine organism known.

Protecting the deep sea: a call for balancing mining and ecosystem sustainability

Thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface lies a hidden world of undiscovered species and unique seabed habitats—as well as a vast untapped store of natural resources including valuable metals and rare-earth minerals. Technology and infrastructure development worldwide is dramatically increasing demand for these resources, which are key components in everything from cars and modern buildings to computers and smartphones. This demand has catalyzed interest in mining huge areas of the deep-sea floor.

A 26-year old test mining track (1.5 m wide) created at the seafloor of the CCZ illustrating the extremely slow recovery of these abyssal ecosystems from physical disturbance. Photo credit: Copyright Ifremer, Nodinaut cruise (2004)

In a paper published this week in Science, Oceanography professor Craig Smith along with the Center for Ocean Solutions and co-authors from leading institutions around the world propose a strategy for balancing commercial extraction of deep-sea resources with protection of diverse seabed habitats. The paper is intended to inform upcoming discussions by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and set the groundwork for future deep-sea environmental protection and mining regulations.

Read more about it in the UH System News.

Timing is critical for the success of some spawning fish

The larvae of some species of reef fish appear to survive better depending on the timing of when they were spawned, according to new research from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS).

The findings advance earlier research that suggested only spawning location is critical and have important implications for fisheries management and conservation.

Many reef fish form “spawning aggregations,” gathering at highly predictable times and locations to spawn and producing larvae that will spend a month or more free-floating before settling to reef habitat.

“Reef fishes form these large aggregations not just to find mates, but because the specific time of the aggregation increases the survival of their larvae. Conserving spawning aggregations not only conserves the large reproductive individuals that sustain the population, but, according to our study, ensures the success of their larvae,” said lead author Megan Donahue, associate researcher at HIMB and member of the “Pretty Darn Good Control” Working Group at NIMBioS.

Read more about it in the UH System News.

Hōkūleʻa crew and UH researchers explore Great Barrier Reef

Three key University of Hawaiʻi staff contributed to Hawaiian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa’s exploration and research at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in June.

Chad Kalepa Baybayan is a master navigator and serves as astronomer in residence at UH’s ʻImiloa Astronomy Center on the Big Island.
Department of Geology & Geophysics (G&G) graduate assistant Haunani Kane is serving as Hōkūleʻa’s assistant navigator.
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) researcher Ruth Gates, an expert on corals, joined the dive of the Great Barrier Reef.

Gates calls Hokulea’s worldwide voyage the single greatest study ever undertaken of the interaction between human beings and the ocean.

“In Hawaiʻi we have fantastic reefs, but there are fewer species of corals and few species of fish,” said Gates. “When we were out on the Great Barrier Reef, the coral has so many different forms and shapes. The colors are incredible, there’s just an incredible visual diversity as you look out.”

Read more about it and watch the video report in Kaunānā.

New study models path for achieving Hawai‘i’s renewable energy targets

Many wonder whether the state can reach the lofty goals set out by new laws requiring the University of Hawaiʻi to become net-zero by 2035 and for Hawaiʻi to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity by 2045.

A new report from the Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) identifies various scenarios that would allow the islands of Oʻahu and Maui to surpass the 2020 goal of 30 percent renewable energy while lowering electricity costs.

“This study provides a valuable tool to assess potential pathways to meet the aggressive 100 percent goal while also maintaining a reliable system,” said John Cole, HNEI project leader.

The study, conducted by GE Energy Consulting, in partnership with and sponsored by HNEI, modeled the islands of Oʻahu and Maui, simulating electric power system operations with varying amounts of utility-scale wind and solar, and increasing amounts of distributed rooftop solar photovoltaics.

“This modeling provides an independent look at the utility system and how changes to it and its operations can affect its costs and ability to accept additional renewables,” said Richard Rocheleau, HNEI director. “The report and additional analyses that build upon it will provide regulators and other stakeholders with valuable information as we continue reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Read more about in the UH System News, Pacific Business News, and the HNEI press release.

Advances in animal tracking redefine how we discover and manage ocean life

A new paper published in Science details the explosion in aquatic animal tracking research over the past 30 years and its impact on discoveries about the movements, migrations, interactions and survival of both common and elusive aquatic species.

The review, co-authored by Kim Holland, researcher at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), describes a profound revolution, including more than 20 examples of scientific breakthroughs, in global ocean observation science achieved through advancements in acoustic and satellite telemetry—tracking via electronic tags placed on organisms ranging from tiny neonate fish to large whales, which transmit data to fixed or mobile receiver stations or orbiting satellites.

Read more about it in the UH System News and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (subscription required).

Ocean surface currents now being measured in near real-time off Hilo

A new data set of the direction and speed of ocean surface currents in Hilo Bay is now available online. The hourly data updates are accessible to the public and free of charge on “Voyager,” the interactive mapping platform of the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS).

Mapping ocean surface currents in near real-time provides valuable data for search and rescue operations by narrowing down the possible location of a missing person or vessel. The new data set also helps to forecast the distribution of oil or hazardous material spills and is therefore crucial to plan an adequate response. Marine navigation can benefit from near real-time surface currents for safe navigation. Other examples of surface currents data usage include water quality monitoring and forecast modeling.

Read more about it in the UH System News.

New community partnership on Hawai‘i Island aims to improve water quality

A clean stream through Waimea and less pollution entering the ocean are the goals of the Wai 2 Kai Project.

Sierra Tobiason, University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (UH Sea Grant) extension agent and South Kohala Coastal Partnership coordinator, is leading an effort to help improve water quality at five specific sites that were identified as hotspots of pollution, erosion and stormwater runoff.

The two-year Wai 2 Kai project will take place at five sites along the Waikoloa stream and within the Wai‘ula‘ula Watershed. At these sites volunteers will be recruited to install and maintain raingardens, participate in stream and beach clean-ups, remove invasive plant species, and help the project reach its goal of planting 20,000 native plants.

Read more about it in the UH Manoa News.